There are currently different types of electronic locks applied in different types of doors, especially in locker doors and the like.
Contactless locks stand out among them, in which by means of transponder technology, a key communicates with an electronics board of the lock through an antenna without needing physical contact. These locks have an actuating mechanism including a knob for handling the mechanism and a blocking system which blocks or unblocks the actuating mechanism, allowing or preventing the movement of the tongue of the lock and therefore its opening or locking.
Patent ES 2 229 929, owned by the same applicant as this application, describes a contactless electronic lock of the previous type in which the blocking system has a motor controlled by an electronics board which allows or refuses the linear movement of the tongue when the actuating mechanism is acted on through the rotation of the knob. It is detected by means of a cell and a magnet arranged in the blocking system that said blocking system correctly blocks or unblocks the rotation of the knob. The drawback of this invention is that the linear movement of the tongue of the lock is only achieved by means of a rotational movement of the knob.
There is another technical solution belonging to the same applicant of this application for achieving the linear movement of the tongue with a linear movement of the knob, as a result of a button joined to said knob, and in which shafts of the tongue are introduced. The pressure of the button with the knob generates the transverse movement of the tongue and the closing of the lock, and the recovery of the knob as a result of a spring generates the opening of the lock. In this technical solution the blocking system has a solenoid actuated by an electronics board, and to which solenoid a shaft is fixed. For the blocking, the solenoid places the shaft against the button and for the unblocking, the shaft is withdrawn from the button. A hold-down plate of a contact at the end opposite the shaft fixed to the solenoid controls the correct operation of the lock. This technical solution has the drawback of a high probability of the solenoid breaking down, which affects the blocking of the actuating mechanism, and therefore renders the lock useless, making it necessary to repair or replace it, with the corresponding associated cost.
An electronic lock providing an efficient control and blocking system is therefore desired, preventing the drawbacks existing in the previous systems in the state of the art.